An Attack
by Colemet Milinia
Summary: In the Hunger Games, an unfortunate tribute is attacked by the Careers who are out for revenge. Will she be able to outsmart them and escape? Especially in this strange Arena... One-shot.


I trudge through the Arena, my combat boots kicking against the gravelly ground. I sigh. There's no way I'm making it out of here alive.

We've been in the Arena for about three days now. I've survived the bloodbath and the first couple nights. Fourteen of us didn't, ten of us left. Eight tributes were killed in the bloodbath, which is a low number considering how serious it was. Since then, six people have been killed, two of them by the Careers, the other four from either disease or starvation. Thankfully, my District partner is still alive. Not so fortunately, all six of the Careers are still alive. My spirits are low. I've managed to make it this far, but I don't think I'll make it too much farther.

There's no way I'm going to win. I'm just an unfortunate tribute from District 11. I'm only fourteen. I can't win.

I try to look up on the situation. I've made it this far. I made out pretty well in the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. I managed to get my hands on a case of knives, which I can throw. It's the only thing I can do, really. I learned it back home when slicing fruit out of far away trees in the orchards.

I'm pretty sure I'm being hunted, however. During the bloodbath, I narrowly escaped my death when the male tribute from District 4 tried to kill me, a Career. He had me cornered and tried to stab me with a sword. I rolled out of the way just in time, clutching my pack of food as I did. By the time he had unlodged his sword from the ground, I had managed to make it to my feet and start running. I looked back and saw him bracing a knife, poising it to throw. I duck, and as I do, I see a case of knives. While I'm still ducked, I grab it and take off towards the safety of the children's play place.

I escaped him. Twice. And not only that, he helped me.

And knowing the Careers, he'll be out for revenge.

I haven't run in to them yet, and thankful to have not. I've managed to survive on my store of food that I got in the big pack in the Cornucopia. I'm thankful I did, because there's almost no edible vegetation here. This year's Arena is different, it isn't like any of the other Arenas from the past, where tributes could eat plants or hunt. This Arena was entirely constructed, it had to be. This year's Arena was just like a giant…

Playground.

It really is. Everything in it, everything I see is just a never ending playground. I guess it really does make these Games for kids, then.

Everywhere, slides, swings, monkey bars, and tunnels everywhere you look. Some make for good hiding, but if you're found in there, you're toast.

I keep walking, though I have no idea where I'm actually going. I clutch a knife in my hand just to be prepared. I walk past a large swing set. There's a breeze that moves the Arena windbreaker I'm wearing, colored brown for my District. It makes me look even paler than I am, though I think the hot sun is burning me at this point.

Suddenly, I see out in the distance moving figures. They appear to be laughing. They have to be other tributes. I stop dead in my tracks. I squint at them. There appears to be a group of them.

I realize something. The color of their jackets altogether. I count them, still squinting. One, two, three… six. There are six of them.

The Careers.

I'm under attack.

I quickly run behind the closest post I see, my blonde ponytail whipping my freckle-covered face. I go as fast as I can, but I'm not fast enough. I'm behind the post by the time I hear a voice.

"Look, there she is!"

I recognize that voice. It instantly comes to me who it is. It's the guy from District 4, the one who tried to kill me at the bloodbath. They're coming for their revenge.

Now I am determined to stay alive.

His yell is followed by cheers from his fellow pack members. I hear their footsteps start to run towards me.

I look around; I try to come up with a strategy through my panic. Then I see it. The swing set I passed while walking.

I shy out of my spot behind the post and sprint as fast as I can towards it. By the time I get there, my lungs burn and ache for air, but instead of slowing down, I hop on the first swing I see, push off, and begin frantically pumping my legs.

It doesn't take too long for me to get up too high. I see the Careers coming closer. They all get close to the swing set and stop. They're all panting from the run. They're staring up at me, surveying, the situation.

I have a good look at them from up here, going back and forth, swinging to high safety.

The boy from District 1 is pretty tall, maybe sixteen. His hair is a chocolate brown color and falls in flipped waves on his forehead. He'd actually be somewhat attractive if he wasn't out for my blood.

His District partner is a little shorter than he is, her long, almost black hair pulled back. In her hand, she has a golden bow, already loaded with an arrow from the sheath on her back.

The two tributes from District 2 could be siblings, maybe even twins. They're both around the same height with ash blonde hair and the same shaped eyes; both look probably fifteen, maybe even younger. They both have a vicious look in their eye that makes my stomach drop.

Finally, there's District 4.

The female tribute looks about my age, probably around fourteen years old. She has thin, platinum blond hair and is about half the size of her partner.

Her partner is truly the one who scares me. He is massively tall and muscular, he has to be eighteen. He has bright red hair that is short and spiked up. He has an endless amount of freckles like I do. But what really stands out are his eyes. They're piercing blue and full of malice, hate towards me. Ready to kill.

I keep swinging, and finally, the boy from District 1 makes a move. "I'll stop her from behind!" he yells in a deep voice to the others.

"I'll get the front!" says the girl from District 2. They take their places, bracing themselves to catch me.

I swing back towards the boy and hear the wind in my ears and clutch the chains of the swing. I smile as I realize how this is going to end.

My body swings back to where he's standing. I feel his hands clasp around my dangling ankles a millisecond before my feet slam in to his skull. I feel his hands release and I go forward again. I look back. He's fallen to the ground, severely unconscious. It brings a smile to my face.

I turn my head around front again. My swing is whirling towards the girl from District 2. When the District 1 boy grabbed my ankles, he slowed me down a bit, putting me in perfect position for what I want to do next.

Gravity pulls my swing down towards her. Her body is braced to catch me, but My speed is too quick. Since he held my ankles, my swing moved down a little, which put my feet, sticking straight out heading right towards her midsection.

When I finally collide with her, the impact knocks her back and to the ground. She lies on the ground, sputtering and gasping for air. The blow knocked the wind out of her.

As I start going back and forth again, pumping my legs to go higher to safety, I realize my heart is pounding. I feel a rush at the fact that I just demolished, yet not killed, two Career tributes. It feels good. I cling to the chains tighter.

I look at the remaining Careers briefly. They all size me up now, all teeming with rage. I know it won't be long until the next attack comes, so I brace myself. As I look, I figure out where it's coming from.

The girl from District 1 has her bow pulled back, the quiver between the fingers of her right hand. "Let me do this…" she says. I see resentment in the District 4 guy's eyes. I know he wants to kill me.

She sends her first arrow flying. It misses me easily. I smile.

This taunts the archer below. I hear a loud groan come from her and she reloads her bow. She sends the next arrow. I hold my breath and cringe as I hear it wiz past my ear. Yet, it still misses.

She sends a third. Still misses. My constant movement on the swing as I pump my legs throws off her target, she can't me.

She sends a fourth. Fifth. Miss, miss. I can't just keep going on like this, because eventually, she'll shoot me.

I make a snap decision. I pull a knife from my wind breaker. As reach peak height, that brief moment when I'm suspended in the air, I launch my knife at her. She'd be smart as to shoot me when I'm at that point in the swing cycle, but the Careers are fighters and nowhere near intelligent.

My knife flies towards her and hits her clean in the shoulder, which is where I aimed. She drops her bow and clutches her shoulder, which is now dripping blood. I smile. I've outsmarted another Career.

The District 4 boy shouts with rage. "Someone get her!" he booms.

I realize that I can't stay up here forever, eventually they'll find a way to get me down and kill me. I have to go down and fight my way out.

I survey my competition again. I could probably take the girl from District 4, she seems smaller than me from up here. The District 2 boy seems to have disappeared… But I have no shot with the District 4 male, he'll completely emaciate me. My best bet is to get down and run.

I brace to launch off the swing, yet my hands seem to grip even harder, turning my knuckles white. I have to be careful as I jump, out in front. There's some sort of play structure with tunnels, a rope bridge, and a straight tube slide. If I over jump it, I'll smash right in to one of them. I just have to land on my feet, whirl around in the other direction, and sprint away from the Careers in hopes that they don't pursue me. It's unlikely, but it's all I have.

I give myself a countdown from five in my head… no, ten. Ten, nine, eight… Oh gosh… Seven, six, five… This is going to be terrible… Four, three, two… Here goes… One.

I hurl my body off the swing with as much force as I thought necessary to get down, but apparently it was too much. My body flies through the air towards the tube slide that I was trying to avoid.

I reposition myself and somehow end up landing on my feet on the slanting slide. It takes me a second to hold my balance, but I somehow manage to. The impact against it sends a jolting pain through my legs. No doubt my feet are bruised.

Then, I hear a clang of stabbing metal. I look down at my feet. There's a knife blade pointing up through the slide, just inches from my foot. It disappears and then I see the blade come up again, this time even closer to my foot.

I guess that's where the District 2 boy went.

I don't waste any time. I jump down from the slide and begin running like I planned to. I hear District 4's low, menacing voice. "GET HER!" he shouts.

I hear running behind me. Within a minute, I feel a body jump on my back. Instantly, I know it's the girl from District 4, the small one. I ruled her out and strength and size, but I underestimated her speed.

The impact of her on to my back hits me hard. I manage to stay on my feet, but I stumble forward and twist my ankle.

One of her hands is holding me around the neck, which is choking me. I think it's more for her own support rather than her attempt on my death. The latter is threatened by the knife clutched in her other hand. She flails it around and it slices my arm, tearing the fabric and giving me a bloody gash.

I let out a cry of pain and flail my own arm towards my jacket as the other tries to displace her choking arm. My hand finds one of the knives that is stored in my jacket. I flip it out, reach it over my shoulder, and stab my attacker's own shoulder.

Instantly, her grasp on me falls, leaving her in pain on the ground. I've been pretty good with my intentions in this attack so far, not meaning to kill any of the Careers.

I turn and look at the girl, but then I realize it's a mistake as I see the District 2 boy running towards me.

I whirl around the other way, where I was heading in the first place, and begin running. I'm not fast enough, he's too fast for me. He catches up me within seconds.

I feel his hand make contact with my back as his hand closes around a bunch of the fabric from my jacket. His strength pulls me back and to a stop. I feel his other hand do the same thing.

He whirls me around in a circle towards a post. Within seconds, my head slams in to it, sending white hot pain through my now aching skull. He goes to drop me, but not before I hook my ankle around the bend of his knee and drag him down with me as I fall.

We both land on the ground with a hard thud. My head burns. I turn on my side in the direction of my attacking tribute. He's on his back, his face toward the sky. I take my fist and put as much power behind it has I can and punch him square in the temple. His eyes go shut. It knocks him unconscious.

My head aches immensely. I feel dizzy. Everything is out of focus; there are little black spots in the outer part of my vision. I can't move.

Suddenly, I hear a deep, sinister laugh that can only belong to one person. I turn my head towards the District 4 boy as he straddles triumphantly towards me, his arms crossed over his chest, an evil smile curled on his lips. He's the only one still able to fight.

This is it, I think. This is the end. I lay still as he approaches.

His dark laughter is clear now as he bends down next to me. He puts his hand on my stomach then slowly moves it up to my chest, feeling for a heartbeat that will tell him whether I'm alive or dead. I can barely tell whether I am or not at this point, so I don't blame him.

His hand stops on my chest and I know he feels my pulse. My heart is racing now, so I don't know how he couldn't. He rests his entire arm on my abdomen, keeping his hand still on my chest, probably to make sure I don't go anywhere and to make sure my heart is still going. His hand is strong. It feels cold, even through the fabric of my coat and shirt.

My eyes shift to his and his to mine. His sinister laugh makes a reappearance. He finally speaks. "Well, well, well," he says. I narrow my eyes at him. He smirks at me.

He removes his arm from my abdomen, but I still feel the ghost of it there, the pressure of where it was. Instead, he slips it under my back and then slips the other one under the bend of my knees. He lifts me up and carries me like a child.

A moan escapes my lips. I let my eyes flutter open a bit. I see a triumphant smirk on his face. I try to struggle out of his arms, but his grasp on me is too strong. He begins walking and carrying me the way they came from.

He's amused by me trying to free myself. I realize it's futile and just stop. Another laugh. He acknowledges my attempts, but only to an extent. "Forget it, eleven," he says, his voice full of cruel malice. "It's over. You can't outsmart me. You can't outdo me."

As I sway back in forth, still cradled in his arms, I start to think he's right. I outsmarted every single one of the other Careers. I even outsmarted him once, but it wasn't enough. But I realize something else.

I can't give up.

No, I can't, I must keep fighting. I won't let him win. Won't have it.

He's holding on to me as if I'm as weak as I feel, not putting too much effort in to keeping me contained. I think over myself for a second. My ankle is twisted, I have a gash on my arm, sure to have bruises on my foot, and a bump on my head that's probably the size of the Capitol itself. I feel extremely weak.

I note my position. I'm being held like a child and probably carried to my death by a Career, one of his insanely strong arms around my back, slightly restraining my arms, and the other around my legs, holding them together and in place.

My arms and legs are useless, they're being held by him. I realize what my only true body weapon left is.

I take a deep breath and gather together all of the force and energy I can that's left in me. I draw in another breath and bolt up, then slam my head into my captor's own.

It works. He drops me as he falls to the ground, taking me with him. His body lands first, creating a cushion for mine. I hear him groan as his body meets the ground and mine falls on top of his. When we are still for a minute, I turn my head in the direction of his. His eyes are closed and he's pale. He's unconscious.

Now that I pulled that stunt, I'm very weak. I just lay there on my back for a while, maybe it's a few minutes, maybe it's an hour. I can barely tell. I just let my head rest on his chest in the exact spot that I fell. I may have fallen asleep. I don't even know.

I let the pain disperse for a while until I can finally manage to stand up. I look down at the body that I was just laying on. He's still unconscious.

I walk back toward the other Careers. I look around at them. I left them all gasping, bloody, or unconscious. All of them are motionless now, lying still on the ground where I left them. They all must be unconscious. None of them are dead, I would have heard the cannon. It sends relief through me, I couldn't live with myself if I killed an innocent person. I can barely with myself knowing I stabbed a couple of them.

I breathe out a sigh of relief. I know I need to get out of here while they're still unconscious. As I run in the other direction, away from my imminent death, I realize something.

I outsmarted the Careers.

I escaped their attack.

I escaped.

Maybe I can survive.


End file.
